Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Leonine Public Affairs (LPA) announced today that former State Senator Corey Parent has joined their team as Director of Business and Municipal Affairs. Parent’s consulting firm Forty-Four Seven Strategies has merged with LPA, expanding their scope of services to include municipal and business consulting. Parent will lead the expansion of LPA’s municipal services practice and expand the scope of the firm’s business services practice.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Communications Union Districts Association (VCUDA) has elected new officers: President: Ellie de Villiers, Maple Broadband; Vice President: Jonathan Baker, NEK Broadband; Treasurer & Secretary: F. X. Flinn, ECFiber. VCUDA consists of nine Communications Union Districts (CUDs), regional municipalities that have formed in Vermont to provide world-class broadband to unserved and underserved addresses in Vermont. Modeled on the Vermont League of Cities and Towns, VCUDA formed in November 2020.

by Stephen Leffler, MD Here’s one place I didn’t expect to find myself in my health care career: Standing at a construction site on a snowy December afternoon, applauding as my colleagues officially broke ground on a new apartment building and child care center for employees of the University of Vermont Health Network. As a trained Emergency Department physician and now President of the University of Vermont Medical Center, I know how much there is to be done inside the walls of our hospital – which serves as the region’s community hospital, academic medical center, Level I Trauma Center, children’s hospital and NICU.

Vermont Business Magazine Community Care Network (CCN) and its Rutland Mental Health Emergency Services Team today announced the implementation of a 24-hour a day, 7 day a week crisis text line available to anyone needing support during a mental health emergency. CCN’s crisis text line, made possible by a $10,000 grant from the Vermont Community Foundation which covered a portion of the training and start-up costs, is monitored around-the-clock and features a simple, user-friendly process for individuals seeking support.

by Michael Del Trecco, President & CEO, Vermont Association of Hospitals & Health Systems It’s long past time to stop the scourge of workplace violence in our community hospitals and health care settings. These are places for health and healing, peace and recovery. They are staffed and run by the most talented, caring and loyal group of providers and staff anywhere in the world. Violence within their doors is a rampant and unrelenting problem, and we need to address it. Workplace violence and threatening behavior have to stop if we expect to make any progress toward population health, a strong and stable health care workforce and hospital financial and operational sustainability.

Vermont Business Magazine Erin Barry-Fenton joins Gifford as the new Director for Strode Independent Living, a 49-unit apartment complex for seniors aged 62 and older at Morgan Orchards Senior Living Community in Randolph Center, Vt. She has spent the last decade working in Long Term Care, holding marketing and leadership positions. This is a return to Gifford for Barry-Fenton, who served as a Case Manager and Social Worker at Menig Nursing Home from 2010-2014. She most recently had the role of Administrator at the Loretto Home, a Residential/Assisted Living Community in Rutland.

Vermont Business Magazine Sticky Brand - a Burlington company specializing in custom-made stickers, decals, and magnets - has made their second move in just three years into a larger facility. The brand has experienced explosive growth since founder Nick D’agostino partnered with CEO Michael Rist in 2019. The new South Burlington location and former Tesla facilities boasts 15,000 square feet and will be the brand’s production facility and corporate headquarters. Sticky Brand, which is quickly becoming an industry leader in producing high quality custom vinyl stickers, is known for winning the Guinness World Record in 2020 for creating the world’s largest ball of stickers using recycled and scrap material.

Vermont Business Magazine DVFiber, the communications union district serving southeastern Vermont, has announced that it has connected its first customers with high-speed fiber optic Internet. Customers in Readsboro were connected to DVFiber.net late in December. This pilot group is testing the DVFiber network for reliability of speed and access to the Internet for a three-month testing period. DVFiber will survey the pilot group for feedback regarding all aspects of customer service, including initial connection, call response time, repair, customer support, and billing. The survey findings will help ensure that connecting larger numbers of customers will go as quickly and smoothly as possible in 2023.

Vermont Business Magazine Average gasoline prices in Vermont rose 1 cent in the last week to $3.41 per gallon. They've fallen 6 cents/g in the last month and are 6 cents/g higher than this time last year. The cheapest station was in Brattleboro at $2.99/g and the most expensive was in Northfield at $3.59. According to GasBuddy price reports, the cheapest station in Burlington was priced at $3.34/g yesterday while the most expensive was $3.49/g, a difference of 15 cents/. The lowest price in the state yesterday was $2.99/g while the highest was $3.59/g, a difference of 60.0 cents/g.

Vermont Business Magazine Dozens of Vermont residents will step up to serve as volunteers on Monday, January 16, the annual Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday. VHCB AmeriCorps members and volunteers will assist the Upper Valley Haven food shelf and kitchen staff in their daily operations at 713 Hartford Avenue, joining hundreds of thousands of Americans across the country in volunteer service. The Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service is a defining moment each year when Americans across the country volunteer to make local communities more equitable and take action to create “the Beloved Community” of Dr. King’s dream.

Vermont Business Magazine The Associated Builders and Contractors New Hampshire/Vermont has announced that Matt Wheaton, executive vice president of DEW Construction, has been named 2023 Chair of the Board. Wheaton oversees estimating, business development, preconstruction and marketing at DEW Construction. His successful career in the construction industry began even before college as a carpenter’s apprentice, where he was first exposed to all facets of residential construction. He went on to pursue the field of architecture, graduating with honors and receiving a Master of Architecture degree from Norwich University. Wheaton has served on the ABC NH/VT board of directors since 2018.

Vermont Agency of Agriculture Food & Markets The Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation (FPR) is beginning a robust public engagement process to identify opportunities to help Vermont chart a path forward to protect the long-term viability of forest-based businesses and the many benefits they provide to the state’s environment, economy, and quality of life. To launch the project, FPR is asking all users of Vermont forest products to complete a survey to help understand their perspectives and opinions about key topics shaping the future of the forest economy and forest products sector in Vermont.